Wednesday, May 23, 2012

As I was finding my ways to a heart serene I discovered creeks and alleyways Streets and avenues and dark hallways Uncovered by the bitter truths of Madarij as-saalikeen The warning at the crossways of my heart’s arteries Reads “your deen is in need for your mind to intervene and your soul to control its foolish desires for the world” I needed to jump start my heart from the state of heedlessness to the state of awareness And it only made sense that I needed to smack my soul out of negligence Before it got purified on the day of a 50,000 year equivalence. From which torturous torment in Jahannam is its derivative From a fuming fire 70 times the world’s corrosive And alarming danger is where my soul is. So I knew that before my last breath is when my soul needs purity And for that I’d need a bloodless open-heart surgery To cleanse my body’s faculties, from evils, lies, and perjury So write this down in gold says Shaykh Riadh Ourzazi, My next station was to identify the problem at self-accountability. But that was a bit discouraging cuz my list of sins almost seemed at infinite It seems as though my soul is prone to evil and disobedience. But Allah paved the way to repentance for my convenience. Sincerity in the request for forgiveness, Or a mere handshake will cause my sins to diminish. A return to my Lord causes Him to increase in happiness More so than he who called out “I am your Lord, and you are my servant” So before I move on, I must first question my repentance And remain in my stance of steadfastness And I will do this by means of the station of Reminders Where I block the shaytan from my inner whims and desires So that when the Quran is heard my healthy heart never tires. Ya Hayyu ya Qayyum, laaa ilaha illa anta And feel my heart enlighten Clearing the diseases of the heart while its colour whitens. Seeing that rich red strawberry brighten. As it pumps that rich fluid of emotion It elevates me further to the station of devotion Longing for salah like the fish long for the ocean Aspiring to be like the sahabah who stood still without motion Or aspiring to have the khushu’ of Hatim al-Assum Who imagined the ka3ba infront of him Jannah to the right of him Jahannum to the left of him Malik al-Mawt directly behind him The sirat beneath him All the while Allah was watching him This would then lead me to the station of vigilance Adding the element of general and specific togetherness Knowing that Allah is closer to me than where my own jugular vein is I’m on 24-hour surveillance – not by CSIS, but by Allah and His guardian angels. So I gotta watch what I do as I move to the station of perseverance Don’t you know that its cuz Allah loves you that He tests your patience So preserve in keeping your soul in restraint and confinement “Allahuma ajirnee fi museebati, wakhlufli khayran minha” Allah assured us that the reward is in abundance I want to be greeted by the Angels in Jannah, don’t you? So lets go together to the station of self-realization Understand that disobeying Allah and being pleased with Him as your Lord is a contradiction. So be sincerely pleased with Him and be under His protection To be pleased with the Prophet is to follow him in his soorah, seera and sariyya, his looks, life and intentions. So by this I shall move to the station of sincerity Remembering that Jahanam first takes the hafidh, the warrior, and one who gave in charity Because in their hearts their was no purity So as I stand before you right now I gotta check my heart forces A second, third, and fourth prognosis. Before Allah sends me His own diagnosis. Oh Allah teach my nafs what control is. Cuz my soul is … in need to be 1 of 70,000 Who didn’t seek ruqya or believe in bad omens. This brings us to station of reliance. Hasbiya Allah laa ilaha illa hu wa ni’m al-wakeel. And suddenly the degree of remembrance I’m starting to feel SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar goes my heart wheel Pumping love and longing for Allah to a higher degree Bringing us to the station of happiness for which all of mankind agree But it’s only in our hands cuz of our belief in the Divine Decree So I pray to Allah to keep me steadfast on this station of supplication Where I find my self in the midst of contemplation About the essence of my creation and my changing situation O Allah make the tour of Jannah my realization and my ultimate destination O Nafs, I ask you, no I implore you to fear no temptation To start the process of purification And so my mind intervenes Studying the itinerary of Madarij as-Salikeen And I pray, I, along with all of you, have found ourselves – a heart serene.

Friday, May 18, 2012

“O people who take pleasure in a life that will vanish; falling in love with a fading shadow is sheer stupidity”

Ibn al-Qayyim

Less than 5 hours till I board the bus heading to Singapore to resume my studies in the "A Heart Serene" course; making this the second and final weekend where we shall delve deeper into the works of Ibn Al-Qayyim, insha'Allah.

Having had the opportunity to read the works of Ibn Al-Qayyim in the past, it awakened a side of me that brought tears to the eyes, heart and soul due to its relevance and profoundness to the ephemeral life I embraced then. Little do I know that even after all those years, his works still produce a massive impact on me, on multiple levels.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

For the benefit of everyone who happens to cross this part of the blogging sphere, despite my seemingly extended absence, I have not decided to go into hibernation mode, at least not just yet. There has been numerous changes in this path I affectionately call life, and it revolves around work transitions and adjustments, mostly. For the latter, I am still very much alive, a little sluggish here and there and still as boring and geekish as ever.